Idaho Vacation

The family got to spend Christmas in Idaho this year. It was a fantastic snowy adventure. Here are Leo, Kaya, and Opa watching the excitement at the bird feeder.

Oma and Opa gave Kaya her first ride on a chairlift. Yes those are cross country skis Opa is wearing.

Leo had his cross country gear on for his first trip on a chair lift. He was the youngest telemarker out there.

Leo and Nicki soaking up some sun before heading home.

Kaya enjoying some of that airport entertainment.

Nice outfit!

Last light, Warm Kaya, Cold Leo

It's been over a month since I last posted. My camera has been broken, but I just fixed it with a strategically placed screw. The whole but-my-camera-broke-so-I-need-a-new-one excuse wasn't going to work this time. So in the last month:
The sun has disappeared for the year. Here is one of our last glimpses.

Coincidentally, Kaya has learned to pull herself up and does so most often by the fire.

She has also expended her diet. (When she actually gets some in her mouth.)

Leo turned four.

And, He has begun skiing. One of the proudest moments in my life. (Look out for the dog Leo!)

Hawaii and Family

Nicki and I had a fantastic Hawaiian vacation this past week, and, thanks to my parents, we got to go without the kids. So what do we do in Hawaii without the kiddos?
Here is what I do:

And, here is what Nicki does:

No just kidding. The surf was way up when we were there and we had the chance to see (and photograph) the professionals ride some big waves.
Speaking of rides, this little gecko clambered out from underneath the hood of our rental car and onto our windshield while going 45 mph. Don't worry, I took the photo after we stopped.

Upon reaching home, we found that Kaya had progressed to a point where she was reading to unicorns.

Meanwhile, Leo had regressed to sitting in baby walkers.

We also returned to find that the snow had finally claimed the valley. Here are my much relieved parents (no more kid duty) enjoying a walk with us before their flight. Thanks Mom and Dad for the wonderful vacation.

Waiting for Snow, a New Family Member, and 8 Month Kaya

The river has icebergs floating down it and the north side of the yurt stays frosty all day. We have the cold, but now we are just waiting for some precipitation. Come on snow!

Here we are getting the dogs ready for winter pulling.

Notice Ranger hanging a foot behind Georgie so his line is slack and she is pulling everything. He is a goofy dog but he is definitely not dumb. We are hoping that his will be the year we can get a dog sled and get another Alaskan merit badge.
The Yurt has gotten a bit more crowded with the addition of a hermit crab to the family. Here is Leo putting Nicey's home together.

Kaya is eight months old now and is very close to crawling.

She was introduced to Cheerios recently and couldn't be happier. Her and one particular Cheerio have become life long friends.

Sunny to snowy

We had a wonderfully sunny fall with a lot of time spent out on our deck.

We are still spending time on the deck but the weather has turned and we are welcoming in the snow. Here is Leo trying to net it.

Our wildflowers always seem to be in bloom just as the snow hits.

First snow fall on the yurt. Nothing really stuck at our elevation.

But, it did up in the mountains.

You can tell Leo is excited. Kaya is a little unsure, and Georgie doesn't care.

Camping Birthdays, Yurt Washing, Homer Trip

One of Leo's friends had a camping trip birthday party. Nicki was working so I took the 2 little one's solo. I was a bit nervous, but I had plenty of help from the other families in entertaining Leo. Here is Kaya enjoying some light reading and getting extra head layers from her brother.

We took advantage of the nice weather and gave the yurt its annual wash. Mild soap, washcloths, a mop at the end of a long stick, and a spray down with the hose was all it took. Here's Nicki making yurt washing look oh so good!

During a visit to Homer this past weekend we received a healthy mix of fog and sunshine. Here we are all bundled up on the beach.

An eagle decided to pose for us.

Nicki captured a sweet sunset shot on our last evening there.

Speaking of sunsets, it's harvest moon and equinox on the same day this year. Hope for clear skies!

Fair, Berries, 7 months, Lakes, and Birthdays

We made our yearly trip to the fair and were pleased to have a nice sunny day, a rarity this summer. We watched the lumberjacks and the horse acrobats, rode ponies and rides, and got to see big vegetables. One of the new highlights this year was seeing the dog weight pull competition. Leo even got to ride in the cart the dogs were pulling. (Leo not in this picture.)

There have been a lot of people complaining about the poor yield in blueberries this year. Not if you know where to find them :) (hint: hike in a couple of miles)

Kaya is 7 months old and is beginning to develop some personality. Here is crazy Kaya.

We found a new lake to paddle on. Fire Lake in eagle river is a great place to watch the float planes land and take off, have a picnic on the island, and muck around in the canoe.

Nicki's Birthday is tomorrow. Hold on pal, that cake is for her.

Oregon, Rainbows, and Bears

The last of our siblings just got married and we were down in Portland for the festivities. Leo had a great time playing with his cousins, visiting the Chinese Gardens (where the ceremony was held),

and picking black berries.

Sorry, no photos of the wedding, I was on Kaya duty for most of it. Thanks to all of Nicki's relatives for a fantastic visit!
The recent sunshine put together with evening rain showers has created some fantastic rainbows, some of them doubles.

The salmon are in at the Nature Center viewing decks. Leo was big into walking the dogs on the way out there.

And, of course, when the fish are in so are the bears. This one was out by the viewing deck with her cub.

We don't have a TV at our yurt but we do watch movies on the computer. Kaya has recently gotten into it and shares the past time with her brother.

Just for the record, Leo does have clothes on.

The Family is All Hitched and U-picks

What a summer of wedding this has been for us. From July to August, my two siblings and Nicki's two siblings have all gotten married. Nicki's little brother and my little sister were married in early July. Here is my little sister, Beth, her new husband, Jared, and their son, Jacob.

My older brother and Nicki's older brother are getting married in August. We just got back from a whirlwind tour of Seattle visiting family and friends and attending my brother's wedding. Aaron is the third man in our family to some how trick a smart, sophisticated, attractive woman into marring them. Myself and my father being the other two. Here he is with his new wife Milana.

Visiting Seattle friends was one fo the big highlights of the trip.

Leo got to spend time with his great-grand parents. The man reading the book is, as we called him that weekend, Leo Schneider (the elder). He is who our Leo (the younger) is named after.

Kaya spending quality time with her cousin Jacob and her grandpa.

A visit with Nanna and Grandpa. You can tell she really likes grandpa.

Our Oregon cousins brought U-Pick blueberries to share in Seattle. They were so good it inspired me to see what the U-Pick situation was here in Alaska. I found two of them and now have 4 pounds of raspberries. Here is our friend Lindsay looking a little nervous about what crawled into her wagon.

The only way I could get Leo to look at the camera was to let him throw cabbage leaves at me.

A week of excitement and one Hersey kiss later and this was all that was left of Leo.